SK Telecom Proleague Round 1 Playoffs

An exciting five weeks of StarCraft II action has led to the 2014 SK Telecom Proleague Round 1 Playoffs. Four top StarCraft II teams will be competing in the Round 1 Playoffs for a grand prize of ₩15,000,000 ($14,235USD) and 40 bonus points for the 2014 SK Telecom Proleague rankings.

Proleague is a team tournament featuring all eight Korea e-Sports Association (KeSPA) teams: KT Rolster, Samsung Galaxy Khan, SK Telecom T1, CJ Entus, Jin Air GreenWings, IM, Prime, and MVP. Over the course of nine months, the teams will play each other in four rounds leading up to playoffs starting in July. Throughout the tournament, you’ll see 2013 World Championship Series heavy hitters like Maru, sOs, and Soulkey competing with fan favorites like DongRaeGu, PartinG, and Rain.

In Proleague Round 1, the maps and map orders for each match are determined ahead of time. Teams chose specific players to play on each map in ways that allow for unique strategies and unexpected builds. In a typical weekend marathon StarCraft II event, players are required to prepare multiple strategies for a number of different maps, and that results in standard build orders, but the Proleague format allows players to focus on a particular map, which can result in thrilling and unexpected matches.

After this round, three more rounds of play lead to a final Playoff in August where the best KeSPA team in StarCraft II is decided for the year. Only the top four teams in the standings get to participate in those Playoffs, so a win in Round 1 is crucial.

All of the Proleague matches can be watched live on Twitch, and all the VODs for the 2014 SK Telecom Proleague Round 1 can be found on YouTube. For more information about the 2014 SK Telecom Proleague, check out the official Proleague Facebook and Twitter.